


Terrifying Knowledge

by Jungle_Youth



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: 3x24, Case Fic, Chloe Decker Finds Out, F/M, Hurt Lucifer, Identity Reveal, Season 3 Finale, Season 3 Finale aftermath, Wings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-08 06:32:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15237495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jungle_Youth/pseuds/Jungle_Youth
Summary: This is yet another take on how Chloe deals with the reveal and what happens after Cain's death in general. Lucifer deals with his bloody wings and tries desperately to hide them.This is my first fanfiction ever and my coping mechanism to deal with the waiting time until season 4 is released. :)





	1. A new universal law

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction ever and my take on what could happen after the season 3 finale. 
> 
>  
> 
> I don't own any characters.

It is right in front of her. The truth, the whole damn truth and she can’t even grasp it.

“It’s all true.” That’s all she could say. Her mind goes blank and she unconsciously takes a few steps back. Away from that **thing**. Her heart is pounding hard against her ribcage and she has trouble breathing. Her eyes wander around the facial features, trying to make sense out of it. This thing right in front of her can’t be human. The skin burned and scarred in a reddish tone, eyebrows and hair completely missing, the sunken eyes filled with the fires from hell. _Hell. Of course. The devil._

Lucifer musters her frightened face. Eyes wandering from her to Cain and back.

“Detective.” He says gently. “I had to do it, otherwise we both would be dead meat. I couldn’t let him get away, he would have hunted me – or even worse, you.” His eyes still locked on Chloe raising both hands in an explanatory way.

But he doesn’t get an answer and notices her truly terrified eyes and trembling body. Her hands are shaking, and it seems like she is holding her breath. Now even more worried, he begins to approach her.

Chloe listens closely to the words, which are coming from her partner, Lucifer. _That's his voice_. She tries to comprehend what she is seeing and works it through in incredible speed. _Lucifer is the devil. That means heaven, hell, angels and demons exist. I guess he truly never lied to me. I can see it now. He is the one and only Lucifer I know. He cares – es cares for me._ As she sees him taking a step towards her, she instinctively takes another step backwards, hits the stairs with her heel and slumps down ungracefully. Now sitting on the stair, she breaks eye contact and stares at her hands. Closing and opening them a few times, doing some sort of reality check _. This is real._ Slowly her mind slipped back in her usual detective mode and she starts analysing the situation with logic and reasoning.

Assuming the devil is the real deal, so are hell and heaven, angels and demons and probably other creatures. If we accept this fact as reality and take it as a new knowledge of our universe, then Lucifer is still the old him. Just Lucifer. He always told the truth, he was always open about the fact that he is the devil. It was his reality and now it is also hers. She can deal with that, this are just additional rules of the cosmos and life itself.

Lucifer sees Chloe fall over and rushes to her side. “Detective, are you okay? Do you get enough air?” He kneels beside her and moves his right hand to her face. At that moment he sees his hand and releases a noise of surprise and shock. “Bloody hell, why now?” He hisses and turns his hand around, while reaching with the left to his face, feeling the rough and hairless surface he jumps to his feet, turns around and takes a few steps back from Chloe. _Why did it return now? She has seen it, it drove her crazy. I know it._ Taking a few deep breaths, he tries to regain his calm. In a blink of an eye Lucifer is back to his usual from. Not daring to look at Chloe, he says “Det – Chloe, I – I know this is **bad**. I know you are afraid and I don’t blame you. But now you know it, I am the devil.” His voice breaks at the last word and his head slumps down to his chest, staring at his ruined Italian shoes. But he couldn’t care less about something like that, now that he lost the most important person in his life. Tears forming at the edges of his eyes, he tries holding them back so hard. His vision goes blurry due to all that damn water in his eyes, he curses. Lucifer blinks and a single tear drops down, landing on a bloody feather, which is glistening reddish. Lucifer is deep in thoughts, thinking about an escape plan and maybe an escape to hell, that he doesn’t register the movement behind him.

 _There it is, this are his words, that’s Lucifer, my Lucifer. He is deeply hurt and afraid. Afraid that I might run away_. She can hear it in his voice and notices it breaking in pain. “..I am the devil.”  > _No, you are not. Not to me_. < Her words from last night echo in her head and she meant them, she truly did. And she still does. She takes a deep breath and rises her head. She spots Lucifer’s back and gathers all her remaining strength to stand up. _He needs me._ Even though he is the devil, she still cares for him, maybe even more than ever before. Chloe steps with shaky feet towards Lucifer and when she finally arrives, she slings her arms carefully around his waist and hugs him.

Taken by surprise Lucifer gasps and his eyes catch Chloe’s arms warped around him. For a split second he thinks she is trying to hold him down and arrest him. But he doesn’t feel any harm behind the embrace. She was gently holding him and whispers “I know it’s you. You are not the devil, not to me. You are my Lucifer.” Now he can’t hold them back anymore. The tears start dripping down unhindered like rain. He sniffs his nose and makes a small hic noise. _She accepts me. Me as who I am. She truly is special._ While more and more tears are falling, Chloe steps in front of Lucifer and raises her hands to his cheeks and wipes away some tears, trying to lock her eyes with his. Lucifer blinks a few times to clear his vision and catches Chloe’s gaze, those beautiful, merciful eyes of hers. “Thank you.” He whispers and closes his eyes, seeking comfort in her hands.

 

For this short moment everything was pure bliss.

 

Until a massive jolt of pain thunders through his back. His wings hurt like hell and now that the adrenaline is gone the pain starts to spread. Bullets still stuck and burning almost as bad as flames from hell. Lucifer hisses in agony, releasing himself from Chloe’s touch and bends over clutching his knees. “Bloody hell.” He curses and starts breathing heavily.

“Lucifer! What’s wrong?” Chloe stares at her partner in shock, she recognizes the holes in his shirt. _Was he shot?_ _Where is the blood?_ “Where are you wounded? We need to get you to a hospital.” Lucifer holds up a hand towards her, signing her to stay away and says with gritted teeth “N-no hospitals. Humans and divinity, not so good.”

“Right, you are right.” she nervously fiddles with her pocket, in search for her phone. _Maybe Dan and Ella can help?_

The pain is excruciating, his vision is slowly getting occupied by weird black spots and his legs begin to shake as if there are not able to support his weight anymore. _Those bloody wings_. Suddenly his knees give in and he slumps down, both hands placed on the ground supporting himself with his remaining strength. Lucifer growls in pain and tries to regain his composure. _Must. Not. Release. Wings._ He curses again. All he could see was the debris and some bloody feathers only partially visible, but he tries to focus on one feather to keep himself conscious.

This sight scares Chloe even more, she has never seen Lucifer being in so much pain. Usually he shakes injuries off like nothing. She remembers the time he jumped in front of a woman with a knife and got stabbed in the shoulder. He hardly flinched at that time and pulled it recklessly out, seemingly ignoring the pain. But now, here he lies visibly suffering in pain and breathing heavily. Panic rises in her throat and with shaky fingers she dials Dan’s number. Taking in a deep breath she tries to cover up her anxiety but had not a lot of time, as Dan picks up almost instantly.

 “Chloe! Are you and Lucifer alright? What happened?” Dan yells.

“We are fine, kind of. It’s done. Pierce is dead. Dead for good.”

There is a short pause on the other side, finally Dan answers “I see.” His voice clearly tearful and sad. “So, it’s over. Charlotte’s killer is gone.”

“Dan, we have other issues right now. Lucifer is badly hurt. He is in pain.” She watches Lucifer struggle to remain conscious and adds “We need to get him out of here.”

“We are already on the way to you guys. Almost there. Also, Backup must be there shortly.”

“Alright, see you soon.” She sighs, puts her phone away and steps towards her partner. “Dan is on his way, they should be here any minute.”

“NO. Stay away, it’s dangerous!” Lucifer suddenly yells. He didn’t mean to make it sound so harsh, but the agony is numbing his mind and driving him almost crazy. He could feel every single bullet stuck in his flesh burning up and searing through his wings. But there was no time for that, he can’t release and tend them now. Police is on the way and revealing divinity to humanity doesn’t seem like a good plan. _What if I fly away?_ Lucifer thinks but gets interrupted by another wave of pain. _No, that would not work, I would crash down somewhere and reveal myself._ Now that this option is eliminated, Lucifer focuses all his strength that is left in him and gets up to his feet, still a bit wavering but mostly steady, startling Chloe visibly. _I am in control of my wings and a little bit of pain won’t stop me._ At least this is what he tries to tell himself.

“Can you stand?” Chloe asks with a concerned face and steps beside him to give him some support.

“Let’s hope so.” He answers, clenching his fists and his voice almost returned to his old devilish self, almost. “I am fine, for now.”

From the distance sirens are ringing and soon Dan and Ella storm inside the gallery. Dan with his gun right in front of him and Ella, well she was mimicking some sort of ninja posture, ready to attack. Chloe almost chuckles. Dan spots the duo instantly and lowers his weapon. “Guys.“ He sighs, “What the hell happened here?” Dan musters the ground and tries to make sense of it. The first thing his attention caught was Pierce, lying in his own blood with a dagger, kind of familiar dagger, in his chest. Right where the sternum should be, his biology skills are surly rusty. His heart fills with dread and hurt remembering Charlotte, their newly relationship and hope filled future, which all turned to dust, the moment Pierce shot her in cold blood. Dan gulps hard and blinks desperately to prevent himself from crying. His eyes wander to some of the thugs lying around. _Probably unconscious or dead_. And there is something strange on the floor. Feathers. A lot of them. Torn up into pieces, stained red and way too huge for duck or goose feathers but there is a strange shine they are emitting. Dan couldn’t get his eyes off and tries vehemently to resist the urge to pick one up. _No, this is a crime scene._ He thinks and focuses his attention reluctantly to Chloe and Lucifer.

Ella on the other hand, totally mesmerized by the view is already wearing her gloves and gathers a few bloody feathers. “There are so many.” She mumbles. “And they are beautiful.” She has definitively more trouble to escape the charm of divinity. “But this substance, is that blood?” Ella holds a feather close to her face, examining it intensively. Suddenly she snaps out of it, lets the feather fall and looks at Lucifer. “Oh, I am so, so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I heard you were hurt.” Ella charges to Lucifer, who tries to evade her possible hug attack, but is surprised that she doesn’t go for it. She comes to a halt right in front of him and analyses him carefully.

“My dear miss Lopez, I can assure you, I am fine. The detective exaggerated a bit. So, no worries, they don’t suit your usual sunshiny face.” Lucifer nods at her and puts on a light smile but is not able to hide the agony. Ella musters him for a few seconds, not buying any of his words and finally says “Chloe, he is not telling the whole truth, right?” facing Chloe.

“Obviously, but whatever we can’t deal with that right now. We have more important matters. Like this freaking mess.” She looks around nervously pointing at Pierce and his henchmen. “Feathers, lots of blood, those thugs and Pierce.” Chloe steps towards Cain’s dead body and suddenly recognizes the blade. “Is that Maze’s knife?” She turns around and is surprised by Lucifer already standing right behind her.

“It certainly seems so. While we fought he attacked me with this knife. I have no clue how he got his hands on one of these bad boys, they are hellish dangerous. Maze doesn’t let them out of sight normally. Something must have happened to her.” He puts his phone to his ear and continues “Well, in self-defence I broke his wrist, which was holding the knife, and rammed it into his heart.” He explains with a calm voice.

“But, that’s impossible. Look how deep the knife is shoved into his sternum. How strong are you?” Ella exclaimed with sheer amazement and a hint of fear.

“I told you, I am the devil and that comes with some perks. Like inhumane strength.” He smirks.

 “Oh, come on, stop with that nonsense, man. Now is not the time for your strange devil persona. We need to make sense of this whole mess.” Dan argues and throws his hands in the air.

“It’s not a persona, Daniel.” Lucifer insists. Slightly annoyed, dropping the smile, he puts down his phone. “She isn’t picking up _._ ” Slight worry appears on his face. _But it is Maze, she will be alright._

Chloe steps between the two. “Now stop it you two, no time for your quarrel. They are already coming.” She faces the exit and indeed backup arrives and soon the whole room was filled with police force. Chloe, Dan and Ella getting to work, talking to their colleagues and giving their statement. Chloe purposely skipped the part where she woke up on a rooftop and the fact she saw the proof for all divinity. She got a quick check up by the medics for her bruising chest and got some painkillers.

Soon Ella starts inspecting the area, takes fingerprints, pictures and some samples. She tries to reconstruct the events with the given information but was at a dead end. _It doesn’t make sense._ The big window was completely shattered but from the outside, indicated by the glass shards spread inside. _How could that happen?_ Another mystery were the bullet shells. _What did they hit? I don’t see that many bullet holes. This doesn’t add up._ “The chap who got shot must look like swiss cheese.” She mumbles under her breath while taking another picture. And of course, the feathers. So many of them. _Maybe they are artificial and were on some sort of statue, which got destroyed. Or are from an ostrich which was an albino? Maybe some fake ass angel wings. And the blood, probably from the chap who got riddled with bullets._ Her mind racing with thoughts and possible ideas, she picks up more evidence and puts it inside tiny plastic bags.

Lucifer gives a quick statement of his side of the story but of course not telling the whole truth. Evading the whole flying-on-top-of-a-building-and-flying-back-beating-up-bad-thugs-with-his-wings part. Ignoring the numb pain on his back he smiles slyly at the officers and has no problem selling his story, as usual.

After a while Chloe rises her head in search for her partner and spots him standing in a corner, hands in his pockets with a hollow gaze. Worry sinks in her stomach forming a tightening knot. She knows damn well that he is not okay and that he puts up an act. _I need to finish quickly and get him home._

Lost in thoughts Lucifer leans against the cold wall and gazes into nothing. His whole body hurts, and his wings scream in racking pain. _Just a little longer. I can’t let Chloe deal with that mess all alone. I won’t abandon her._

But it didn’t take much longer and all the officers left with the bodies, besides Chloe, Dan and Ella. Dan approaches Lucifer grabbing his shoulder “Come on man, time to go home. You seem like you need some rest.” Noticing the devils pale face, dark cycles under his eyes and clenched jaw. Lucifer’s hair is a mess, a bad case of bed hair and he seems to sweat a bit.

Lucifer just nods, barely recognizing Dan’s words but knows what he suggests. He takes a step and suddenly a wave of pain shivers through his body and his legs almost give in. Dan reacts instinctively and supports him by putting himself under Lucifer’s left arm. “Woah, careful.” Gratefully Lucifer accepts the offered help and smiles weakly. Chloe rushes to Lucifer’s right side and provides the same support as Dan. “I knew it, you are obviously **not** okay Lucifer.” She says with a stern look and concern in her voice. Lucifer doesn’t even care to answer and that makes the three of them worry even more. They exchange some worried glances and proceed to the car. Ella right behind the trio with a bag full of feathers, shards and other evidence which she is going to analyse as soon as she is in her lab. _Those feathers. I will get behind them and figure out from which animal or **thing** they are. _

They finally arrive at the car and somehow manage to secure Lucifer in the backseat. His head rests against the window in a slightly awkward position.  Chloe reaches out for the buckle belt and straps it around Lucifer. She was so close to him she could hear his breathing and notes heat coming from his skin. _Has he always been this warm?_ But she has no time to think about that, she must get him home, so he can rest. Chloe clicks the belt into position, strokes Lucifer’s cheek quickly, before seating herself besides him. Lucifer’s eyes half shut and not focusing on anything, but he still felt Chloe’s touch. Warmth starts to spread on his face where she touched him.

Lucifer feels happy, secure and maybe even loved? An emotion and feeling he never guessed he would experience again. Deep down he still couldn’t believe the detectives reaction to his devil face. Suddenly doubt starts bubbling to the surface and tries to engulf him, which hurts so much more than his bloody wings. _Maybe she didn’t see it after all, maybe it was just a weird dream, or she put up some sort of act, she was an actress after all, because she is afraid I could harm her. Maybe she thinks I am a monster and I could harm Trixie or others around her if she rejects me._

_> > “I know it’s you. You are not the devil, not to me. You are my Lucifer.”_

Chloe’s words thundering through his mind trying to silence his doubt.

_> > “You are **not** the devil, not to me. You are my Lucifer.”_

Lucifer recalls every single word and thinks about how she said them. There was absolutely no hint of fear or hate in those words, only honesty and maybe even affection.

_> > “You are not the devil, not to me. You are **my** Lucifer.”_

The last bit was his favourite part. _I am **her** Lucifer. If she was afraid she wouldn’t have said that. I believe her words. She truly accepts me as who I am._ With this revelation the sprouting seed of doubt turned to dust and he could bury his worries, for now.

He felt his eyes slipping down and slowly closing. _No._ His mind tries so hard to escape the pain. _No, not yet._ His body gets limb and he lets himself sink deeper into the seat. _Please not_.  Lucky him, Dan drives recklessly, taking a sharp turn and Lucifer’s head bumps softly against the window. _NO!_ Eyes wide open. Thanks to this little nudge he escapes unconsciousness. Lucifer knows, if he faints now he can’t control his wings and they will spawn right here in the car. Exposing him once more for what he is and brings that burden upon Dan and Ella as well. He couldn’t let this happen.

Chloe watches him carefully and sees his struggle to stay awake. She takes his slack hand, interlocking fingers and gives him a light squeeze. To her surprise it works, Lucifer responds to her grip with slight pressure and gives her one of his sweet smiles. “Come on detective, talk to me for a bit. It distracts from the pain.” She smiles back at him, nods and whispers “We are almost at Lux.” Chloe looks at her phone.  “I tried to reach Amenadiel, but it seems his phone is turned off.”

“I know where he is.” He responds and sighs. “He took Charlotte and took her to, well.. “ he nods upwards and smiles.

“..Heaven.” Chloe completes, eyes wide open in realisation. She takes a few seconds thinking about the fact heaven is real and Lucifer chuckles slightly at her face but then she lets out a sigh of relieve and gives Lucifer another approving squeeze. “I am so damn happy she is save.” Wiping away a tear.

 “Yes, she finally found peace.” He looks down. “Well, but I don’t know if my dear brother Amenadiel will ever return, now that he finally regained his wings.” His voice with a hint of sadness. Lucifer’s gaze focuses now on the traffic as he continues. “Maybe he will stay in the silver city. It’s his home after all.”

There was a short silence between them until Chloe opens her mouth.

“He will come back.” She simply says.

Lucifer looking at the detective again “Why do you think so?”

“I just know it, I’ve got a feeling.” Giving Lucifer another hand squeeze.

Lucifer smiles at her statement and is yet again amazed by her unbeatable intuition, which helped solve tons of cases. There are only a few things Lucifer has unconditionally trust in, but Chloe’s hunch is one of them. He smiles turning his head towards her. “You are probably right, detective.”

The car suddenly stops, parked in the garage of Lux. “Mister Morningstar, we arrived at your desired location.” Dan says with a smug expression on his face, looking over his shoulder. Obviously trying to tease the devil to lighten up the mood. Dan noticed them both whispering during the ride but was unable to understand a single word, because of Ella’s nonstop rant about how the crime scene didn’t make any sense. Ella giggles at Dan’s joke and starts getting out of the car.

“How very amusing, douche.” He tries to keep is usual sarcastic emphasis on the word “douche” but he failed. Frustrated he unbuckles his belt and opens the car door. “Hey, wait! Let us help you.” Chloe insists but it was too late, the devil already left the car and headed for the elevator. She sighs annoyed and follows him. Dan and Ella on their heels. Lucifer’s new won energy helps him to push himself without any help. “It’s alright, I can make it from here.” He throws a look back to them while walking towards the elevator. “You can all go home. Thanks for the ride and have a pleasant nig-..” he couldn’t even finish his sentence before tumbling over and hitting the ground hard. _Bloody hell._

“Lucifer!” They rush to him and try to put him into a sitting position. “Ow, what was that. Why was there a black object in front of me?” he mumbles rubbing his eyes.

“You blacked out! There was nothing, you just fell over.” Ella tells anxious, now seriously concerned. “Come on, we take you upstairs, we can’t have you fainting again.” Dan and Chloe help Lucifer stand up and drag him to the elevator. Ella tags along pressing the button to Lucifer’s penthouse.

With a soft “ding”-noise the door opens and Lucifer releases himself from their grips, charging to the bar. “Hey!” Meanwhile the others step inside while he already downed two glasses of some brown liquid, probably whiskey. He turns to the others. “Now please, **leave.”** Feeling the full return of the pain, not even the alcohol could numb it. A wave of stabbing pain bolts through his body and Lucifer hunches forward dropping his beverage. Letting out a noise of pure agony. “Bloody hell.” He hisses. The pain tortures him, the bullets need to be removed. _I need Maze or Linda. Now!_ Lucifer reaches for his phone in his front pocket. Jet another wave hit him hard and he drops to his knees, letting out a cry. The phone drops with a thump to the ground.  

“Lucifer!”

He couldn’t make out who yelled his name the voices seem so far away, almost like he was under water. His senses start to get numb, vision yet again filling with those damn dark spots. He curses under his breath and rubs his eyes desperately trying to remove the annoying hindrance.

But anyhow they need to leave, now! _I can’t let them see me_. “OUT!” Lucifer yells with his remaining vocal strength but is missing any force behind his voice. Neither of the three would even think of letting him alone right now. They exchange a quick look and approach Lucifer, Chloe leading them.

Lucifer couldn’t hold on anymore the darkness finally winning, and he gives up. His eyes close as he slumps forward, loosing consciousness. Lucifer hit the floor once again face first with a thump, lying now on his stomach. Chloe reached out, tried to catch him, but she was too far away. She saw him hitting the floor and then something happened so fast her mind couldn’t keep up.

A white flash of light emerges from Lucifer’s back and in a split-second, wings are sprouting from his back. Chloe stumbles a few steps back, holding her breath and putting up a hand to protect her eyes from the sudden light.

After a short while Chloe lets her hand sink and takes in the whole picture. _Lucifer has wings. Angel wings._ The wings are emitting a slight glow but also show a morbid view due to the damaged and red-stained feathers. _So much blood._


	2. Searing Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe, Dan and Ella deal with Lucifer's limp body and wings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the positive feedback. It made my day! <3
> 
>  
> 
> Now let's see how Dan and Ella deal with the situation.

Eventually Chloe breaks her gaze from the wings and throws a worried look at Dan and Ella, noticing that Dan fell over, who is now sitting with his head between his legs, probably hyperventilating. Ella is covering her mouth with her hands, not making a single noise and looking like she will faint any second. _I guess it will take them a while to process this._ Chloe turns around and tries to focus on her unconscious friend.

 _Such beautiful wings. But why is there is so much blood._ And then the realisation dawned. He was protecting her. Of course, she was shot, blacked out and the next thing she remembered was waking up on the fucking roof. She concentrates to recall what happened after she got shot and closes her eyes _. I remember the impact, I fell, something caught me and then there were gunshots._ Suddenly a cry of anguish emerges from the depths of her memory. _A cry of pain. Lucifer cried out._ _He must have shielded me with his wings_. That explains all the bullet shells spread around at the crime scene, with hardly any bullet holes. A huge wave of guilt rises in her throat, but she tries to suppress it with some other dangerously fast emerging emotions, like sadness, dread and heartache. Because now, Lucifer needs her undivided attention, her emotions must wait. Chloe brushes them off, as good as she could, and approaches Lucifer with slow steps, one hand stretched out in front of her.

“Chloe!” Dan hisses from behind, his voice raspy and filled with fear. “Stay away!”

She ignores her ex-husband and slowly reaches the wings. Carefully and only with her fingertips she brushes against the feathers. _It’s soft. It – it’s real._ Eyes widening due to this pleasant surprise. _It’s so damn soft, so that’s… divinity?_ Now she caresses the wing with both hands, letting her hands glide over the bloody stains and she realizes something horrible. _The bullets, they are probably still stuck._ “Oh no.” she whispers while brushing gently over some broken feathers. _No wonder he didn’t want to go to the hospital. Human doctors aren’t exactly specialized in wing treatment._ She chuckles at that thought. A faint noise of snoring catches her attention, Lucifer buried beneath his own wings, fast asleep with an almost peaceful face, except the wrinkled forehead and clenched jawline. Chloe lets out a sigh of relief.

“Okay, I need to calm down. Let’s not waste time.” She studies the man and concludes that she could never drag him to his bedroom by herself. _They need to help me._ Turning around she searches for Dan and Ella and spots them both still in the same position.

Chloe walks up to Dan and kneels in front of him. “Dan, I know it’s hard to take in.” she pauses, quickly checking on Ella who is still paralyzed. _Guess the shock of divinity gave her a little too much to process_. Facing Dan again “Lucifer is the devil. Yes, it is true but that also means he never lied to us. He is still our Lucifer, who we know for years.” Chloe says slowly while putting her hands on Dan’s shoulders and looking him deep into the eyes. “Dan.” Shaking him carefully. “Dan, I need your help. Lucifer saved my life. He took the bullets for me. Can you see the blood on his wings?” she points to Lucifer and sees that Dan follows her finger. His eyes wander to Lucifer, back to her and again to Lucifer. She could swear she can hear the gears inside him turning and processing this revelation. Suppressing a laugh, she adds “Now, all those bullets are stuck in his wings. He is in pain because of me. Please help me, Dan!” shaking his shoulders emphatic. He doesn’t respond and with a swift motion Chloe stands up, letting out a long sigh, walks to the bar and pours a glass with a random drink. She returns to Dan and hands him the beverage. To her surprise he takes it, downs it in one go and throws the empty glass away. Chloe startles at the breaking sound and watches Dan slowly getting up on his feet while rubbing his temples. He turns to Chloe.

“That - that means heaven is real. And that Charlotte is in heaven, right? She - she has to be in heaven.” Tears forming in his eyes and his whole body starts trembling. Chloe embraces Dan and whispers with a teary voice. “Yes, yes she is. Amenadiel took her.” Dan holds his fist in front of his mouth, trying to hold back the tears.

She feels him returning the hug and his shivering intensifies. Chloe pats his back softly to comfort him. “It’s alright.” Two single tears make their way down his face, dripping down on Chloe’s shoulder.

“Of course, she made it.” Dan lets out a light chuckle. “It was her greatest fear to land in hell.” He weeps, wipes away a tear and his eyes wander towards the devil. They both release the embrace and look at the fallen angel. Dan clears his throat while wiping away the remaining tears. “Well, we need to get him into bed. I guess there would be enough space to spread the -the wings.” Dan musters the fallen angel, the distance and Ella, who is still in some sort of trance. Her eyes are wide open, hands still in front of her mouth but her mind hasn’t caught up yet. “She seems to be out cold and no help at all.” He walks to Lucifer’s feet. “I guess I can take the legs and you take the arms. Let’s test out the weight.”

Chloe nods and grabs Lucifer’s wrists while Dan grabs his ankles. “On three.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

They both pull and let go after hardly five seconds. “Ow, he is so much heavier than before.” Chloe rubs her arms, already out of breath.

“Well, we need to get him off the floor somehow, maybe if we turn him around and just pull him?” Dan suggests while resting his hand under his chin in a thinking manner.

“No! That could harm him even more, we need to wake Ella.” Chloe turns to the forensic.

Dan snickering at his idea. _The devil. Man, this is too much. The literal devil is helplessly lying right in front of me and is depending on our help._ He examines Lucifer closely and his heart starts beating faster, realisation slowly creeping up and confronting him on how much his world view is going to change. But suddenly his thoughts get interrupted by a cheery voice.

“No need detectives, I am already here.” Ella chirps with a happy and exciting voice smiling at them both. Chloe’s and Dan’s chins almost fell in amazement. Ella fiddling with a necklace around her neck approaches them.

“You take it really well that Lucifer is, well, the devil.” Chloe says almost anticipating her answer.

“At first, I was in shock, I mean how often do you see a guy falling over and suddenly he has freaking angel wings sprouting from his back. This is insane. But then I thought about all the crazy situations around Lucifer and I realised that I kind of knew it somewhere deep down.” She shrugs. “But I guess if I can accept seeing ghosts, which by the way is pretty creepy and a topic for another time, why should I not accept Lucifer as the devil, or an angel. I mean look at him, he is **the** fallen angel, like in the bible. I can’t wait for him to wake up, I have so, so many questions. Like, was he really behind the app-“ 

“Ella!” Chloe snaps slightly annoyed but is mostly relieved that Ella is back to her usual happy self. “Not now, we have to help him first.”

“Oh, yeah you are right.” She answers, blushes and tries to swallow her burning questions, for now.

Ella steps in front of the wings and reaches out for them, fingers stopping less than an inch away. “Can I?” she gives Chloe a nervous look.

“Go on, quickly!”

Touching the wings Ella feels her whole body overflow with a blissful warmth she never felt before. “Wow.” She whispers but her amazement stops abruptly once she sees his wounds _. What a sad view._

“Okay, Ella you secure the wings and take the torso and we grab him on the shoulders and legs.” Chloe orders.

With a quick nod towards her, Ella gets in position.

“On three.”

“One”

“Two”

“Three”

Now with one additional person the weight was bearable, and they manage to drag Lucifer, more awkward than anything else, into his bedroom. They let him down on his bed and put him into a more comfortable position, face to the side and lying on his stomach. The wings spread to his left and right, so they are most accessible. Chloe puts a small pillow under his head and brushes over his cheek and startles because of his hot face. 

She turns to the others “Okay, now we need some tools to retrieve the bullets. Can you search the place for a first aid kit or something other useful, while I prepare a bowl with water and some towels?” She asks and wipes away some sweat off her face. They both nod and disappear with their quest. Chloe enters the bathroom, finds a bowl and fills it up with cold water. With that and some washcloths and towels she goes back to the bedroom and places the bowl on the nightstand. She takes a washcloth and soaks it in the water, wrings it out and puts it gently on Lucifer’s forehead. His face relaxes as soon as the cold cloth touches his face. Chloe smiles at this adorable sight but she gets interrupted by her two sidekicks who returned from their search.

“I found some tweezers, a basic first aid kit and some alcohol to disinfect them.” Ella holds up a bottle and hands Chloe the tools. “That will do.” 

 

Ella stands in front of Lucifer’s right wing, one hand gripping the tweezer and in the other a wet towel, seriously struggling with the task. “Guys, I don’t think I can do that.”

“But Ella, it’s not much different from stuff you do at your work.” Chloe states without looking up.

“No, that is totally different. This is a whole new level of different, look at this. This is Lucifer, a friend and co-worker, the devil and an archangel.” Her head is getting dizzy. “I could seriously hurt him if I do this wrong.” She says with a shaky voice.

“Keep calm Ella, he didn’t die because of some bullets and he won’t die when we remove them. I guess he has some sort of divine healing power. I always wondered how he recovered so quickly.” Chloe assures with a soft voice, trying to calm the forensic now looking at her. 

Remembering the bullet holes in his shirt, Ella wonders “You guys saw his chest, right? Six holes, which looked like bullet holes, but there was not a single drop of blood. The wings on the other hand? They look shredded as fuck. How come that one time he is vulnerable and another he isn’t?”

“I know, I don’t get it either.” Chloe remembers the one time, early in their partnership, when she shot him, and he obviously bled. But his reaction was more than weird, he seemed surprised and confused. Another occurrence crosses her mind. The first time they met, she was shot and remembered Lucifer getting shot as well, but he was completely unharmed afterwards. Chloe thought she had hallucinated while passing out. Now, this event glows in a whole new light. “I guess that’s one of the many secrets which have to wait until he wakes up.”

“There was so much impossible stuff that happened around him and he always said weird shit.” Dan adds while removing his third bullet. Dan is defiantly not as prude as Ella and does his job with quick efficiency. “Also, it explains why he seemed like not knowing how to be human, because he obviously isn’t.” Dan chuckles nervously, still trying to get the whole concept of divinity, god and heaven. There are so many questions popping up, but the unconscious devil can’t answer any of them.

“Yeah, not human.” Chloe mumbles while searching for another wound. _Not human_. She really had an impossibly bad taste in men. One was a criminal mastermind and Cain from the bible, the first murderer and the other one is not even a human being. This realisation hit her even harder than any other. _Not human._ _Can I really be together with an angel?_ Her heart stings painfully at this thought.

Ella finally puts her courage together and starts inspecting his wounds “I see, his wounds are already closing. We need to hurry up.” Ella grips her tool and starts digging up a bullet, with success. “Got one!” With a cling noise she puts the metal into a cup.

“Hah! You are far behind, I already got four.” Dan hums cheerful to distract from the depressing mood Chloe emits.

“Not going to lose to you, de - tective.”  Ella returns with a grin. “Challenge accepted!”

The removal was a bloody mess, feathers everywhere and there seemed to be no end. Chloe checked Lucifer’s condition every now and then and replaced the washcloth a few times. After roughly one hour they were finished, the blood was washed off, bullets all out (hopefully) and the damaged feathers removed.

“Now, how do we remove his suit? That seems so uncomfortable.” Ella says with her hands resting on her hip.

“I have no idea how these wings work. They didn’t rip his suit.” Dan states while wiping away his sweat.

“Lucifer would be so furious if they tore apart his suit, every time he uses them.” The forensic comments and laughs. “We all know how much he loves his suits.”

“We have no other choice.” Chloe suddenly says, holding up a pair of scissors. “Dan. Your job.” She orders and hands him the tool.

“Oh, come on Chloe. You can’t be serious.” He takes the scissors.

“Now is your chance to get revenge for all the puddings he took from you.” Chloe says with a chuckle while gathering the dirty towels.

Dan now realising the power he has over the devil, he smirks wildly at his weapon. How often do you get the chance to get revenge on the devil? “Alright, but Ella you need to help me hold his wings.” With a weird feeling of pleasure Dan cuts Lucifer out of his suit jacket and shirt.

After the finished crime Lucifer’s upper body is exposed and he is slightly shivering. “It’s done.” Dan holds up some shredded parts of expensive fabric.

Chloe takes a moment and inspects Lucifer’s muscular back. Her gaze runs from the tips of the wings to their basis and down his spine. _No scars. The wings grew back._ The clearly visible muscles connecting with the wings give her a chill and an odd feeling of realisation. This sight confirms yet again the truth, of Lucifer being an angel. Deep down Chloe had a single drop of doubt left, that the wings were just attached to his suit and maybe fake after all. But seeing his bare back and the wings directly connecting to his skin and muscles, it crushes the last bit of doubt. She looks up and sees Dan and Ella watching Lucifer as well, wondering if they have similar thoughts right now.

“You guys, see that cut on his left arm? Looks pretty nasty.” Ella notices and points at Lucifer’s left shoulder. The wound wasn’t deep but the skin around it was inflamed.

“Seems like Pierce landed a hit with Maze’s knife.” Chloe suggests while searching the first aid kit for a bandage. She disinfects the cut and gently straps the linen fabric around the wound. “That will do, for now.”

They cleaned the mess and Dan and Ella settled down on the sofa. Chloe still beside Lucifer, checks his face and watches him snoring away peacefully, without any trace of pain left on his face. With a weird feeling that she couldn’t identify, she shifts his wings in a more natural angle. As soon as his wings were moved Lucifer rolls to his side into a more comfortable position, eyes still shut tightly and breathing steadily. She watches him and couldn’t help but smile at that adorable sight, completely losing sense of time.

_He is not human._

That fact is haunting her, and she feels her heart twinging. Chloe reaches for his face and caresses his stubbly cheek, noting that his temperature seemed normal again. _I wonder how his devil face feels like_. She remembers the scarred and burnt skin, the hairless head and his eyes burning with an eternal flame but also filled with so much agony. It is surely a terrifying sight at first, but in the end, it doesn’t change a thing for Chloe _. I still trust him and still lo-._

 _He is not human_. Stopping at that thought she gulps hard and tries not to get overwhelmed by fear. _I need to calm down. We will figure something out._

Chloe stands up and covers him with his silk blanket, as good as the wings would allow it, and after a swift stroke over his face, she meets up with the others. Ella and Dan are sitting on the sofa vis-à-vis silently talking, but they stop as Chloe comes closer. She sits down beside Ella and fiddles with her phone. “Who are you calling?” Dan asks.

“I need to call the babysitter, she need to stay for the night. I will stay here and try to keep an eye on him.” _I don’t want him to run away again._ She remembers the time he ran away to Las Vegas and she found his penthouse all empty.

“I already called, and I also reached Linda and Maze to inform them.”

“When did you do all that?” Chloe wonders.

“While you were in there, for nearly an eternity.” He points to the bedroom.

“What?” She blushes slightly and clears her throat. Brushing off the awkward atmosphere and purposely avoiding Ella’s eyes. “Well, anyway thank you Dan.” She smiles and puts her phone away. “So, what did Linda and Maze say?”

“Well, Pierce and his henchmen kidnapped Maze and hold her prisoner in some sort of warehouse. He drugged her and threatened her with Linda’s death. But she could fight her way out against twelve men. If I think about it, she really is a demon.” He gulps nervously at that thought and continues “Anyway, she beat up his men and ran 4 miles by foot to Linda’s office, but just to see her all fine and not harmed. Linda treated her wounds and they are both now resting at her place. Police was informed and I already got the confirmation, all got arrested.”

Letting out a sigh of relieve Chloe sinks deeper into the sofa. “Maze is a hell forged demon, of course she would get free.” She thought about Maze being Trixie’s babysitter and friend for a long time. _I guess Maze is the best bodyguard on earth_. Chloe smiles tiredly and adds bitterly. “No mystery anymore how Pierce got his hands on her knife.”

“But I did not tell them about Lucifer, though. I guessed Maze would run another marathon and hurt herself even more if she knew.” Dan sighs. “Someone needs to tell her tomorrow and I hope the devil himself can do this part.”

“Are you afraid of Maze?” Chloe says with a sly smile.

“No, no, of course not.” He averts his eyes and blushes, nervously scratching the back of his head. “Hell forged demon, that’s not scary at all.” He clears his throat. “Anyway, we will stay here as well.” Dan says, changing the subject. _I don’t want to be alone now_. His heart is painfully heavy and flooded with grief, he can’t stand the thought of being alone right now. Here are his friends who comfort him and give him a feeling of security and who can rescue him from the depressing darkness which tries to pull him down. The other reason why he wants to stay is still buried deep down and Dan prevents it from surfacing with all his willpower. He cares for Lucifer, but he would never admit it, not even silently to himself.

“Yes, it’s a sleepover.” Ella says energetic with a broad grin on her face, eyes as big as puppy eyes. She points to herself and Daniel. “Like that we can make totally sure Lucifer doesn’t ru- erm,. he doesn’t hurt himself by being careless.” After a short pause she adds “He tried so desperately to hide his wings from us. We want him to know that we accept him just the way he is. With wings, without wings, with devilish powers or who knows, some crazy devilish features like tails or horns.” She puts on a huge smile and starts to make herself comfortable on the couch. “Decker, you need to search for another spot, this is mine.” She sings and kicks Chloe softly with her feet.

Chloe doesn’t know what to say, she is so overwhelmed by the reaction of them both and their help they are offering. They are probably also worried he might take off as soon as he wakes up. So, they try to keep an eye on him. _Lucifer made some true friends._

“I take this half and you can have the other half of the couch. It’s quite large, we will both fit here.” Nodding in agreement she stands up and searches for an additional blanket and pillow.

Chloe enters the bedroom and goes through some drawers, finally finding her desired items, she puts them under her arm and makes her way back to the living room. But she couldn’t resist checking on Lucifer one last time and turns her head towards the bed. He is still lying on his right side, facing away from her, the upper wing is now covering his body like a blanket, while the other lies flat behind him. _This is so adorable._ Chloe drops her loot and tip toes the other side of his bed, trying to look at his face. Once she reaches her destination she couldn’t avert her eyes anymore. He was breathing steadily with arms crossed in front of his chest. One hand is holding the wing in position, so it keeps him covered. Chloe takes off her shoes and crawls under his blanket right beside him, as close as she dares. She doesn’t want to wake him up.

Now resting on her left side, she cuddles herself deeper into the pillow and looks at Lucifer's peaceful face. She watches his chest slowly rising and sinking, rising and sinking. The sound of his breathing was so soothing it calmed her down in an instant. She takes a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent. Lucifer’s scent. A feeling of security spreads in her chest, lighting up a fire deep inside her. A fire that she had tried to put out countless times. A fire which she ignored so desperately. But it came back, every damn time she saw him. Sitting behind every move and every word, trying to ignite and burn without control and reasoning. She suppressed it until now, finally letting it burst out, at full force. This wild fire starts burning through her whole body, taking over everything, searing and hot. This feeling was real and now, that she knows the whole truth she can embrace it with all her heart. Slowly slipping into an exhausted sleep, her eyelids slide down and her mind keeps burning with that long-desired fire. _I love him._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not the end.  
> I have more chapters ready and if you like it, I will update more. :) 
> 
> By the way, I am no doctor and maybe some parts can be inaccurate, but I did watch a few "bullet-removal"-videos online, to get at least an idea how it works. 
> 
> English is not my nativ language, so please have mercy on me. Thanks!


	3. No rest for the wicked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As a homicide detective there is no time for breaks. A vile crime scene shocks the team and something important gets taken away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is not much time for Chloe, Dan and Ella to process the concept of divinity properly as there is a new case which shocks them to the bone.

_What’s this scent? It smells familiar and strangely intense._

_What an annoying pressure on my back. No, not really pressure, it feels more like pain._

Unable to open his eyes, Lucifer shifts around trying to lie on his back. _There is something in the way_.

His mind is still numb, so he slowly starts sorting out his thoughts. _What happened? I remember Cain and we fell into a trap. Chloe got shot._ His heart sinks at that thought. _And I protected her. After that, I went back and finished off that imbecile Cain._ The memory still fuzzy he tries to recall the rest. _What happened then? Chloe. Chloe saw my devil face._

Realisation hitting him hard, panic quickly spreading in his chest and Lucifer’s eyes flick open in shock. His eyes still not adjusted to the surroundings, now even more angst rises. _Chloe_. Lucifer tries to stand up but can’t find the strength to do so and slumps down. He lets out an annoyed sigh but slowly makes out his surroundings and spots an unusual figure beside him. His heart jumps in surprise. _What is she doing here? And what am I doing here?_ _I am in my bed?_ His eyes dart around and a white glow, from behind his shoulders, catches his attention. To his displeasure, he notices that his wings are exposed.

Lucifer tries to hide them, but the pain is still present and relentless inhibiting his control over his wings. Eventually giving up he lets himself sink back into the pillows. He turns his head and stares at the ceiling, trying to remember the past events. _Car ride and I fell. And there was a lot of pain, excruciating pain._ Lucifer closes his eyes and focuses on his wings. _It seems the bullets are gone. I guess Chloe took them out for me._

Now facing Chloe, he watches her breathe softly and he starts to calm down. _She saw my wings. My devil face **and** my wings._ Taking a deep and slow breath, he feels the panic fully subsiding. _She accepts me_. Filled with sheer affection for Chloe, he reaches to her face and gently caresses her cheek. _How beautiful_. His fingers glide down to her chin and towards her hand, softly gripping hers. Lucifer felt her returning the grip and his heart skips a beat. It was still dark outside, and Lucifer, who was still very much exhausted, decides to close his eyes again. Still holding hands with his beloved detective and smelling her pleasant odour he falls in a peaceful slumber. He never slept better before.

 

___

 

Sunrays are shining through the windows and are slowly creeping their way up to Chloe’s face. Meanwhile rumbling sounds are coming from the living room and low voices are arguing. Dan woke up first but mostly because Ella started snoring like a lawn mower. He didn’t get much sleep anyway, because the stress of this new knowledge about divinity was still rumbling through his mind and forced him to stay awake. His mind went places he thought he would never see, dark places filled with despair and dread. Dan feared for his daughter, feared for Chloe and for his job. He was silently crying for Charlotte, their destroyed future and Dan almost, but only almost crumbled into pieces.

Trapped in a deep merciless pit of sorrow suddenly a white light appeared, and his mind escaped to places so shiny, blissful and pure he lost every doubt and his fear turned to hope. He was reflecting about the concept of heaven and hell and he finally got a new resolve, a new will to live and to go on. Maybe, just maybe one day he will see her in heaven. If he is worthy enough. _Without shadow there can’t be light._ After finally making peace in his mind he could fall asleep, at least for a few hours.

Ella is still groggily, rubs her eyes and yawns loudly while stretching her arms in the air.

“Shh!” Dan hisses and puts a finger on his mouth. “We don’t want to wake the others.”

“Sorry, my bad.” She sneaks towards the bathroom and throws a look into the bedroom, spotting the white angel wings. _So, it wasn’t a dream after all_. With a huge smile she vanishes behind the bathroom door.

Dan unable to resist a huge yawn goes to the kitchen to prepare some coffee.

 

___ 

 

  
Vicious little sunrays finally arrive on Chloe’s face, making her squint and forcing her to wake up. She opens her eyes in irritation and spots Lucifer just a few inches away, holding her hand. Chloe’s eyes open wide in surprise and she blushes in embarrassment. _Did I really sleep in the same bed as Lucifer?_ Her gaze traces Lucifer’s facial features and stops on his messy hair. A smile forming on her lips. The eyes wander down and land on his exposed chest. Chloe’s face turns into a deep red colour and she quickly averts her gaze. Finally, she spots the white and slightly shining angel wing, which covers Lucifer and herself like a soft and heavenly blanket. _Devil and angel. He represents both sides_.

After a while watching Lucifer sleep, she decides to meet with the others and she slowly releases her hand from his grip. Lucifer lets out a mumble of disapproval but doesn’t open his eyes. Chloe prays that her partner wouldn’t wake up, not yet and curses at the same moment for praying to god. _God is his father_. That’s a whole new chapter in the book of divinity, which she isn’t ready to open yet. Chloe slides off the bed, cautious not to touch his wing, and grabs her belongings. After one last look at the devil she tip-toes out of the room and finds Ella and Dan at the bar.

“Good morning, Chloe.” Ella greets her with a cheery voice, winking at her.

“Shhh!” Chloe puts her finger in front of her mouth and signs her so be quiet.

“Not you too.” Elle pouts silently.

Dan nods at Chloe and hands her a cup of coffee. “Don’t misunderstand that, I was just checking on him and somehow I fell asleep in his bed. Those are some really soft silk sheets.” Chloe’s head is getting red again. “Nothing happened.” She whispers defensively.

“Alright, alright.” Dan smirks and holds up his hands. “At least you didn’t get woken up by a loud mowing noise.”

“Hey! That’s not my fault, Dan.” Ella explains with an offended face.

A buzzing sound interrupts their chattering and Chloe searches for her phone. “Oh, we have a case. It’s an exceptional case, we need to go.” She sighs and looks to the bedroom. “I guess we have to let him alone.”

“Let’s give Linda a quick call or text and she will come and check on him for sure.” Dan suggests.

Chloe nods and starts tapping on her phone while finishing her coffee. “Now, let’s go.”

They went to work, but not before checking on Lucifer one last time, who was still fast asleep and is now snoring loudly.

 

___

 

The sun is now reaching the sleeping devil. Lucifer makes a noise of annoyance and furrows his brows. He raises a hand to block out the sun and opens his eyes slowly, blinking a few times to gather his surroundings. With a grunt he sits up and searches for the detective. _Was it just a dream?_ He touches the spot where she’s been _. No, not a dream. I can still smell her_. A slight smile forms on his lips and he reaches for his wings, investigating the damage. But there was none. He was completely healed, and the pain was gone. He checks the time and is slightly surprised as it’s already 8 am. _Of course, once the detective is away I heal up in no time._ After a swift shoulder roll his wings disappear and he sighs in relief. Noticing the bandage on his left arm, he rips it off and finds a barely visible reddish line left on his skin. _Maze’s knifes surely are nasty_.

Now that he dealt with that, he needs a shower. Standing up with a swift motion he puts on his slippers and heads to the bathroom. Lucifer quickly undresses his pants and wonders where his suit jacket and shirt went. _That suit was an expensive one_. Slightly annoyed he jumps under the shower and turns on the water, as hot as possible. He lets the water run down his body, closes his eyes and remembers the events from the day before. Now all he needs to do, is to tell her how he feels about her, about them. And of course, he needs to thank her for nursing his wings.

But still, there is something he is missing, one part seems still hidden in the dark and he can’t grasp what it is. Lucifer’s efforts are in vain, he just simply can’t remember right now but he knows that sooner or later the gap will fill itself.

He steps out of the shower and throws over some deep purple silk pants and a fitting dressing gown. Lucifer feeling a presence in his living room calls out. “Maze, I know you are here. What brings me the pleasure? I must tell you, your plan didn’t work out. Cain is dead.” He finishes while entering the living room.

Maze was sitting on the couch accompanied by Linda. The demon looks awful, a blue eye, various cuts and bruises and some of the wounds are hidden behind bandages. Maze avoids looking in Lucifer’s direction and fiddles with her fingers nervously.

“Linda! This is indeed a pleasant surprise and a perfect timing as well. I have something to tell you.” He grins and makes a few steps towards the bar.

“Lucifer, we are here because we were told to come.” Linda explains.

“By whom?” He asks while filling three glasses with whiskey.

“Chloe, she texted me to come over. She said you were hurt badly and she is worried.”

“Worried about what? I am totally fine.” He says, spreading his arms to both sides and gesturing at his body.

“Worried that you might run away, again.”

Lucifer scoffs “Oh that’s where you are all wrong. Why should I leave? That’s what I want to tell you doctor.” He makes a short pause while walking towards his guests. “She saw me. She saw my devil face.” He hands Linda and Maze their glasses. Maze still avoiding his gaze, doesn’t make a move to take the drink. “And she, she accepted me.” He takes a sip and smiles.

His eyes wander towards Maze. “Mazikeen, what on earth happened to you? You look like a hundred hell hounds ran you over.” But he doesn’t get an answer.

“Lucifer, oh that is wonderful.” Linda said with a happy voice. “I knew Chloe would take it well.”

“She took it even better than you, my dear doctor.” He winks and sits down on the piano bench, putting his beverage in front of him. “Now, please tell me Linda my dear, what happened to her?” He points towards Maze and starts playing a soft tune.

“She got caught by Cain, he drugged her and held her in some sort of warehouse. Probably his hideout.” Lucifer suddenly stopping and staring at them with unbelieve. “But you know Maze, she fought herself free and escaped. She ran four miles to my office to make sure that I am fine. Cain told her his men were after me.”

Slightly relieved, Lucifer nods “Mhm.” and starts playing again. “So, that’s how he got his hands on one of your knives.” He concludes while looking at Maze, who is still avoiding his gaze.

“It’s over, right? There is no one after me, right Lucifer?” Linda asks with a terrified expression and trembling voice.

“Yes, it’s over. Cain has been dealt with. The sinnerman is dead and not a single soul will hurt you or Maze.” He assures with a firm tone.

Linda sighs in relief.

“But you Maze, I take it you made up with Linda. Do you still want to return to hell?” he asks while playing another unknown tune.

Maze shifts herself into an upright position, faces Lucifer and clears her throat. “I am sorry.” Her voice is barely audible.

“What? What was that?” Lucifer asks and stops playing.

“I am sorry! Okay? Happy now? I said it! I should have never worked with that scumbag of Cain and should have never betrayed you.” Maze focusing Lucifer with angry and hurt eyes. “I have come to realize I have friends here and that, that emotions aren’t as bad as I thought.” She looks down at her hands. Maze feels her head getting hotter and tears building up. She had a tough night, fighting and fearing for Linda’s life but this fear gave her the power to push through. Beating up thugs and running for miles, just to save her friend, was an entire new feeling for her. Maze felt powerful and she finally realizes that emotions aren’t a sign of weakness but more a tool to channel additional energy. Her affection for Linda made her even stronger than ever before and the idea of going home turned to dust. This was now her home, she has a purpose and friends to rely on. _“It’s never too late to fix things. You can always be forgiven, that is in your hands. I will always be here for you.”_ Amenadiel’s words echo in her head. _I must make it all right again_.

“Apology accepted.” Lucifer answers simply, finishes his whiskey and starts hitting the keys again.

Tears are now running down Maze’s face and she starts sobbing while burying her head into Linda’s shoulder. The doctor puts her arms around her and gently strokes her back.

Lucifer, not looking on purpose, has hardly seen the demon cry and was still not sure how to handle this situation, so he just keeps playing but now a bit louder to hide the crying.

_She is changing. No, **we** are changing. _

_____

 

 

Chloe and Dan are standing in front of a small building, decorated with the letters “Dos Toros” and two bull heads. It is a tiny and inconspicuous butchery. An officer exists the building holding a tissue in front of his mouth. He approaches the detectives and speaks through the tissue. “Detectives, this is something straight from a horror movie.” With shivering voice, he continues “We got the emergency call from an old lady who bought some minced meat for her burgers and she told us she found a human finger inside the meat. Therefore, we checked the butchery and what’s inside.” The officer gulps. “You need to see for yourself.” Finishing his sentence, he bends over and starts heaving. Dan and Chloe jump away and exchange a worried look.

“Guess we have no choice.” She says, putting on her gloves.

“Alright.” Dan gulps and does the same.

They slowly enter the building and are hit with an awful smell. “Ugh, what’s that smell?” Dan wines and holds his nose closed. The shop looks like any other butchery, there is a huge counter with all sorts of meat and sausages, some slabs of smoked meat hang from the ceiling and there are two fridges filled with bagged soup, vegetables and sauces. A door behind the counter was leading to the kitchen.

Chloe shrugs her shoulders and leads the way to the kitchen entrance. With her foot she pushes the door open and enters the room. At first, she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but then it dawned on her.  There are at least five huge pots spread around the small kitchen and they all are filled with limbs. Human limbs. She steps a bit closer to inspect the biggest pot on the counter and looks inside. The view horrified her, those are human body parts but not those from adults, they are too small. Those are body parts from children.

Chloe stumbles a few steps back and gasps “Children, those are limbs from children.” She points with her hand towards the pot. Dan reaches out to steady her and throws a look in another pot on the ground, spotting a little leg. In disgust and shock he pulls Chloe out of the kitchen and sends in some officers instead.

“Such a vile crime.” A picture of Trixie appearing in her mind and she holds back the tears. “How could someone do this?”

“I don’t know but finding the monster who did this is our job, let’s try to focus on the case. Don’t think about Trixie.” Dan tries his very best to sound calm.

She nods and starts questioning the witness, who is standing outside the building. First witness is the owner of the butchery, a huge man in his mid-forties with a broad back, dark full beard and he seems to be working out regularly. Chloe catches her notepad and starts questioning him.

“Where were you at the time of the crime?

“I was at home with my sick wife. She is bedridden and needs 24/7 care.”

“So that means you didn’t check your shop for almost two weeks?” Chloe says, rising an eyebrow.

“Almost, last time I checked two days ago, and everything was fine.”

“Who was in charge?”

“Stan, Stanley Parker. He works for me for years, I could trust him blindly.”

“Have you any idea where Stanley could have went?”

“I’ve got no clue. But from the deepest of my heart I know he is a good boy. He would never do something like that. He is no monster.” His hand reaches to his chest and his eyes have a stern look.

“We will see, maybe he got caught in the crossfire while working. Can you tell me his shift time?”

“A normal day he would work just in the morning and in the afternoon for a few hours. Morning 6am to noon and in the evening from 5pm to 8pm. Sometimes he comes earlier and stays longer and does some cleaning or preparing. He is a responsible man and one of the best I have.”

“So, you have more workers, I need all their contact info and they need to make a statement.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you for your help.”

The second witness was the elderly woman who found the finger in her meat, but right now she is already at the precinct, so they can interview her later. Chloe looks around and spots Ella coming out of the butchery, pale and a bit shaky.

“Ella are you alright?” Chloe asks worried.

Ella looks up and shakes her head slightly. “I have seen a few despicable crime scenes, heads cut off, impaled bodies, cut up body parts, but they all were from adults.” She gulps “But seeing child parts, this is a whole new experience, I never wished for.” Her voice turning into a whisper.

“I know. It’s tough.” She gives Ella a soft squeeze on her shoulder. “Did you find something interesting?”

“No, not yet. Well, partially interesting to be fair.” She holds up a small chain with a tiny symbol. “I have no idea, maybe it belongs to our boy Stanley or maybe one of the others.”

“Others?”

“Yeah, I saw it right away. The floor is full of different footprints. We are lucky that the culprits were some messy dudes, dripping this fluid.” she holds up a vial with a reddish liquid inside “It’s everywhere. Almost like they were in a hurry.”

“How many do you think they were?”

“Probably three or four. Luckily, they all have quite different shoe types and sizes. I took some pictures, once I am in the lab I can say more.” She points at her camera and adds with a grossed-out face “Now I need to get away from here, this makes even me nauseous.” With a nod Chloe disbands her and searches for Dan.

“Dan, what did you find out?”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like there are any kids reported as missing around this area. We have to wait for the identification results.” Dan states while scratching his neck.

“Okay, maybe they were from another city or did disappear just recently, so they aren’t reported yet. Dan could you also check the nearest orphanages and churches?” Chloe requests.

“I’m on it.” Dan nods and walks away.

Chloe with her thoughts and given information now all alone. During the ride to the precinct, her mind was racing with endless possibilities, what might have happened. _The culprits didn’t seem like professionals. Their work was messy, and they probably took Stanley with them_. _Or is he an accomplice?_

Her eyes are frequently wandering to the empty passenger seat, where usually Lucifer would sit and annoy her with his inappropriate patter. But now there is nobody here and she feels somewhat lonely. _I miss him._ _Should I call him? No, no, no. He needs to rest._ She tries to disperse her desperate thoughts while parking in front of the precinct.

After stopping the vehicle, she grabs her phone and opens her contacts, the thumb closely hovering over “Lucifer”. _I want to call him. I am only checking on him. That won’t hurt, right?_ She stares on the screen without blinking once, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. After a few minutes changing her mind for at least 20 times, she tosses her phone at the passenger seat, pulls out the car key and steps out of the car while letting out a long sigh.

“Hello detective.” Lucifer says brightly, standing right in front of her.

“God! Lucifer!” she yells and clutches her chest. Lucifer rolls his eyes at the mention of his dad. “You scared the hell out of me, don’t ever do that again.” Chloe takes some deep breaths to calm herself.

“I am so sorry detective, but you didn’t leave your car. You took ages, what were you even doing in there? Something naughty?” He smiles slyly.

“N-no! What are **you** doing here?” She changes the subject and feels her face getting hot.

“Helping you with your case, what else? I am your partner after all.” He explains, and his happy expression changed into a frown. “Right?”

“Yes of course. I mean, are you alright? Does it still hurt?” she tries to catch a glimpse of his non-visible wings, stretching her neck.

“No, I am all better. Thanks to you.” Lucifer bows quickly and gives her one of his sweetest smiles which is surging with gratitude.

Chloe blushes and mumbles something under her breath.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You are welcome.” She returns his smile, but it vanishes quickly as she remembers the case. “Oh no I almost forgot, the case! We can talk later about, well everything. About us.” Chloe’s face turning red. She clears her throat and adds with a worried look. “But this case is something I have never seen before.” He nods and follows her into the precinct. On their way Chloe fills him in with the details and she can feel him almost bursting with anger. “Lucifer, I know it’s vicious, but please don’t let your emotions get over your head.” She puts her hands on his cheeks “I know you can do it.” Lucifer opens his mouth to answer but he couldn’t find the words, so he closes it and follows Chloe into the interrogation room.

The old woman has white long hair, friendly face and wears some simple dark trousers and a light blue blouse. She greets the incoming duo with a weak smile.

“Hello Mrs. Murdock, you stated that you bought minced meat at the butchery “Dos Toros” this morning, is this correct?”

“Oh yes my dear, it was around 6:10am. I was doing my daily walk and went groceries shopping. Thank god the butchery opens so early, I can finish my round even before 7am.” she explains with a soft voice.

“Oh, these elderly people, running out of time, so they willingly roam around at this unholy hour? How amusing, you humans have plenty of time after death.” Lucifer comments with a slight smile on his face. The old lady throws him a confused look but doesn’t answer to his joke.

Chloe ignores him and continues “Who was in the shop, who sold you the meat?”

“It was the same boy as always. His name is something with “S” and his surname is Parker. It’s what I read on his name plate.”

“Did he seem off? Nervous or even terrified?”

“Not that I can recall, but he was really surprised to see me. He asked me how I was able to get inside. I just explained that the door was open, even though the closed sign was shown to the outside.” The old lady explains while Chloe takes some notes.

“Did you hear anything strange inside? In the kitchen?”

“I guess not, no.” she furrows her brows and takes a moment to think. “I am so sorry my dear, my hearing isn’t the best anymore.”

“What happened when you ordered the meat?”

“Hmm, he said he had to prepare it, because he didn’t do the daily portion yet. So, he went to the back room and prepared the meat. I was already wondering why there was hardly any meat displayed.”

“Thank you for your time. If you remember something, please call us immediately.”

Mrs. Murdock nods and they both leave the room.

“Ugh, old people always have this strange smell, right? What’s in their diet?” Lucifer says with disgust on his face, sniffing his suit to check if the smell was attached to him.

Chloe lost in thoughts doesn’t even hear his rant and opens a file and starts to mumble. “Mrs. Murdock said she was there around 6:10am, called the police around 11:30am because she started cooking. Police showed up at 11:40am and that means the culprits left between 6:20am and 11:40am.” She sighs “This is quite a huge time gap to cover. I need to check traffic cams and security cameras from that area. That will take a while.”

Dan suddenly appears, throwing some papers on Chloe’s desk. “Nothing, nada. None of the orphanages report kids missing.” He spots Lucifer with surprise. _Well, he recovered fast_. Dan’s mind entirely occupied with the case, he almost forgot about the fact that Lucifer is the devil. “Lucifer.” He only says and nods towards the devil, hardly looking into his eyes and visibly tense.

“Good timing Daniel, I see you have nothing to do anymore. Chloe says you should check security and traffic cameras. Maybe they caught the vehicle on tape. Thank you very much in advance.” Lucifer says with a bold tone. Dan musters him nervously and says, “Your wish is my command.” He bows, turns around and disappears in the crowd.

“What was that?” Lucifer wonders, looking in the direction Dan left.

 “No idea.”

“Well, at least we have time to visit the little culprits flat.” He smirks, tucking at his cuffs.

“Yes, but first I need to –“

“Chloe!” A female voice shouts and the duo look up, to where the noise came. Ella is running towards them and comes with a sliding move to a stop. “We’ve got a problem.” She takes a deep breath and looks up to Lucifer. “Lu-Lucifer. Hey, I see you are alright now.” Her face red and she is clearly out of breath.

“Why shouldn’t I be alright?” Lucifer asks but gets interrupted by Chloe.

“Ella, first things first. The case, what did you find out?”

“For now, just that there were three people and the boy Stanley. It checks out with the foot and finger prints that I found. I am still waiting on the other results, DNA and stuff. You know, that takes some time because the DNA gets encrypted by using the polymerase chain reaction, short PCR then I compare the results with the data in the system. Really fascinating to be honest but the process is kind of complicated though.” She explains and lowers her voice. “But there is another issue. The evidence I found yesterday, you know I brought it in this morning and when we left for the crime scene it was still in my lab.” Ella’s anxious eyes are wide open. “But now, it’s gone.”

“What do you mean? It can’t just disappear.”

“I checked twice and then again and again. The fea- the evidence was taken.” She gives Lucifer a quick nervous glance. “I asked, and they told me that another investigation party took the case.”

“Well, that is one less matter to worry.” Lucifer comments, hands stuck in his pockets.

“But Lucifer.” Ella hisses, takes Chloe’s and Lucifer’s forearms and pulls them into her lab. She closes the door behind them and shuts the blinds. “This is a great issue. In this evidence bag were feathers.”

“Oh, you are right. I did lose a noticeable number of feathers.” Lucifer says but shrugs his shoulders. “They will check them and won’t find any DNA. The worst thing that could happen is that someone gets insane because of their divine glow.” He laughs.

“What do you mean? The proof of divinity, freaking angel feathers, are now in some one’s hands and we don’t know what they will do with that. Aren’t you afraid?” Ella asks with an excited voice.

“Wait. Miss Lopez, what did you just say? Angel feathers?” Lucifer’s smile suddenly vanishing.

“Yeah, your feathers, duh.”

Lucifer swallows hard. “Did you see them?”

“Of course, we all saw them! Don’t you remember? You blackened out and suddenly angel wings appeared out of thin air.” The forensic explains and throws her arms above her head.

Suddenly the memory came back. Dan and Chloe helped him to his penthouse and Ella tagged along, then he poured himself a drink and the bloody pain came back. “Well, I guess you didn’t listen to me when I said you should leave.” Lucifer says with a defeated voice. _What have I done? I have brought the burden of divinity upon even more humans_. He examines Ella from head to toe and adds. “You seem like always. You didn’t lose your mind.”

“Why should I lose my mind?” she laughs. “Come here.” Ella spreads her arms and embraces Lucifer with a tight grip. “It’s alright. It’s still you. I had a feeling, that you were somehow connected to the big guy up there.” She points towards the ceiling. “I hope Charlotte is giving him not too much trouble.” A big smile appears on her face.

Lucifer visibly embarrassed tries to pry himself away from the grip but surrenders after a few seconds. Instead he pats her back hesitantly and a weak smile forms on his lips. “Thank you, Ella.”

She releases the devil, happy with herself and pleased how it all worked out, she clears her throat.

“This is serious Lucifer, if the feathers get in the wrong hands, the proof of divinity could be spread around the world. It would shake up our world and cause complete chaos.” Chloe says with an stern voice.

“As I said before, the DNA will come out negative and even if those humans understand what they found, they won’t be able to break away from their beauty, probably keeping the feathers for themselves. Remember the auctioneer?” Lucifer argues and moves his right hand to his chest pocket, taking his flask. “Besides, nobody would believe them anyway and it would go down as one of those amusingly ridiculous conspiracy theories. Like the one with the reptiles.” He snickers and takes a sip. “Such utterly nonsense.”

“Well, you may be right, but we need to keep that in mind. Ella, can you try to figure out who leads the Pierce investigation?” Chloe asks, one hand rests on her hip and the other on her forehead. _Pierce. I almost married him_. Her mind was fully occupied by the new case and the whole god and devil stuff, that she totally forgot about the first murderer. She has so many questions that needed answers and a faint trace of anger starts coming up. How could she be this stupid and blind. Why didn’t Lucifer tell her sooner, tell her that he is the sinnerman. _No that doesn’t matter, I wouldn’t have believed him anyway. I am to blame_. Chloe feels the anger subsiding and throws Lucifer a glance, she longs for answers and his warm embrace. _“I am like walking heroin, very habit forming. It never ends well.”_ Lucifer’s words from their first case suddenly appearing in her head and she blushes, averting her eyes and looking again at Ella.

“Chloe?” Ella says with a concerned voice while waving a hand in front of her face. “Are you alright? Can you hear me?”

“Oh, I am sorry. What did you say? I was lost in thoughts.” Chloe admits.

“As I said, I will figure out who leads the case and in the meanwhile you guys stay low and don’t talk to loudly about all this crazy angel stuff.” She raises her hands and mimics wings. “Also, if I have new information on the butchery case, I will call you.”

Chloe nods and waves Lucifer the sign to go. “Alright, we will check out that suspects apartment.” She says firmly while reaching the door and putting a hand on the handle. “And focus on the case.” She adds, but more to herself than to the others. _Concentrate on the case, Decker. The rest comes later._

With that the dynamic duo left and Ella is alone by herself, now looking at the ceiling with one hand holding her necklace. “You can be so damn happy, that Charlotte is up there with you. With that we are okay again, but whatever your plan is, don’t you dare take another one of my friends away.” Her voice with a hint of threat. At first, she was not sure how to handle Charlotte, she seemed to mean and only interested in her own profit, but then something changed and slowly she became somewhat a friend. An immense wall of regret darkens Ella’s usual sunny mind. Charlotte came to her for help and her first reaction was rejection. _Why didn’t I help her more? I should have been there for her. She deserved help and she clearly wanted to change. I was a coward_. A single tear runs down her face. “Big guy, please tell her we miss her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who took the evidence and who is behind this horrible crime? 
> 
> Chloe and Lucifer will talk, I promise, but at first they need to find the culprits, as usual.
> 
> A huge thanks to everyone who comments and likes! <3


	4. A new insight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe and Lucifer are busy with investigations and a tiny human gets a treat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The investigation goes on and Chloe gets some answers.
> 
> A bit more talking this time.

Chloe and Lucifer are now sitting in her car on the way to Parker’s apartment. Lucifer is strangely silent, and it makes Chloe visibly nervous. She drums her fingers on the steering wheel and throws Lucifer a few quick glances, before finally asking. “Everything alright? You seem off.”

Lucifer clears his throat. “I’m fine. No worries, it’s just that my mind is a bit occupied.”

“If you need to talk, I am here.”

Lucifer nods and hums in understanding but doesn’t open his mouth. Chloe doesn’t want to press this matter, so she drops the topic and stays silent.

With a sigh he lets his head rest on the cold window. A wave of exhaustion hits him, and he feels his eyes getting heavy.  _Being with the detective must have slowed down the remaining healing process._  He concludes and throws Chloe a short look. Lucifer would never leave her alone just for a pathetic reason like that. Lucifer can accept the flaws of mortality as long as he can be with her.

Chloe glances yet again at the passenger seat and doesn’t miss Lucifer’s tried face _. He seems a bit weak and tired, I guess he hasn’t fully recovered yet_. Eyes on the street again she continues driving, trying to focus her thoughts on the case.

 

Chloe stops the car in front of their destination and registers the now peacefully sleeping devil beside her. She grabs his shoulder and shakes him gently. “Lucifer, we arrived.”

Groggily he pries his eyes open and rises his head from the window. He realises that he fell asleep and quickly tries to regain his usual gleam. “I am so sorry detective, it seems I dozed off.” Slightly embarrassed, Lucifer exits the car while Chloe chuckles over his slightly messy hair. She follows him, while locking her car “I knew it, you aren’t fully recovered yet.”

Lucifer doesn’t answer. They both come to a halt before the front door and Chloe pulls at Lucifer’s arm to make eye contact. “Seriously, if you faint on me again, I won’t be able to help you.” Now with a more serious and worried tone.

“That will not happen, I can’t assure you.” He assures her. Chloe nods in response, turns to the door and knocks three times with force.

“LAPD, is anyone home?”

**Knock, knock, knock.**

“LAPD, we have a few questions about Stanley Parker.”

They hear shuffling noises behind the door, when suddenly a worried pair of eyes appears. “What can I do for you? The police were already here. He is not here.” a female voice says.

“Mrs. Parker, I am detective Decker, and this is my partner Mr. Morningstar.” She points with her thumb at Lucifer. “We would like to ask you some questions. Can we come in and look around?”

“Yes, yes of course.” She opens the door and reveals herself. Mrs. Parker has big bags under her eyes and seems like she cried for hours. She is a small and round woman, with a worn-out face but friendly eyes.

She lets them inside, closes the door and points to the living room. “We can talk in there. Please take a seat.”

Chloe and Lucifer make themselves comfortable and Mrs. Parker vanishes into the kitchen. After a few minutes she comes back carrying a tray loaded with coffee, water and probably homemade cookies. She places the tray on the small glass table and points at the cups. “Feel free to have a cup of coffee and some cookies.”

“Lovely.” Lucifer says with a big smile on his face while reaching for the coffee pot and pouring, first Chloe and then himself, a cup.

Mrs. Parker sits down and places her hands on her lap. “Did you find my son?” Her voice trembles.

“No, not yet.”

Tears build up in the woman’s face and she takes out a tissue while stuttering. “My, my son didn’t do it. He could never do something so, so disgusting.”

“Tell us about your son.” Chloe asks while giving Lucifer a short, annoyed gaze, who downs his third cup and is now chewing loudly on some cookies.

“He is a good kid. He works in the butchery on weekdays and as an entertainer on weekends. Stanley works so hard to make money and to help me, he has no motive to hurt some poor little children. He even works with them!”

“He works with children?”

“Yes, he is a kid’s entertainer at the Santa Monica beach holiday resort. So the parents don’t have to watch their kids while they are at the spa or something.”

“Now, that’s an opportunity.” Lucifer says and throws Chloe a side glance.

She ignores him “Please continue.”

“Stan would never hurt the children, he loves them. His dream was to quit his job at the butchery and to get a fulltime employment as an entertainer.”

“Why didn’t he do it?”

“His boss at the butchery begged him to stay once Stanley told him his dream. He is the best butcher he ever had and works to well with the knife, it would be hard to find a new employee with the same skills. So, he gave in and stayed. His heart is too big.” The mother lets her head sink and starts sobbing.

“Did he have any enemies? Or a resent fight with someone?”

She shakes her head “No, not that I know.”

“Thank you for answering our questions, can we take a quick look inside his room?”

“Of course. It’s on the first floor, first door to the right.” She points at the stairs.

 

The room was tiny and a bit messy, the police search party made a mess and left it like that.

“Do you see anything?” Chloe asks.

“Nothing besides dirty underwear and some.. “ he holds up a smut magazine and flips some pages “..interesting pictures.” He tilts his head to the side to get a better view.

“Give me that!” she rips it out of his hands and throws it into a corner. “Now is not the time.”

“Oh hello. Well, maybe he was into some other kinky stuff.” Lucifer says with a smirk on his face.

“What do you mean, Lucifer?”

He points to the half opened closet where some sort of animal mask was peeking. Chloe opens the closet and reveals the whole suit. “Seems like an ordinary animal outfit for an entertainer. What kind of animal is that?”

“Maybe a bird? Or a reptile?” Lucifer says while playing with the suit’s arms. “Kids are sure easy to entertain. Those simple-minded creatures.” He snickers.

“Here I found something.” Chloe interrupts and holds up some papers. “Those are application forms for the same sort of job just in different locations. It seems he really wishes to work with children.”

“Our chap doesn’t seem like a brutal murderer, maybe he got himself into something sketchy.” Lucifer says with a gloomy voice.

“Yeah, maybe. Whatever, there isn’t anything else here that could help. Let’s go.”  Chloe exists the room followed by Lucifer, who quickly catches the smut magazine and hides it inside his suit jacket.

They thank Mrs. Parker and take their leave. Finally, in the car, Chloe takes her phone and calls Dan. “Dan, I need you to check the Santa Monica beach hotel resort.” Stanley works there as a kid’s entertainer on the weekends. Maybe they reported some kids missing.”

“I will check that. I also checked the traffic cameras and security footage and I found a dark van, appearing in the early morning, parking behind the building and disappearing again after 2 hours. Shortly after appearing, a man showed up on the front door and it seems like he broke in. A bit later Mrs. Murdock appeared and left the shop just like she told us.”

“Was the license plate visible?”

“Yes, I got a hit. The car belongs to Henry North. I text you his address.”

“Thanks Dan, we will check that right away.” She hangs up and turns on the car engine. “We got a new lead; a dark van was caught on CCTV and we have a name.” Chloe turns her head towards Lucifer who answered with a short humming noise. His face was a bit pale and he seems like he was only listening with one ear. Worry appearing once more on her face, she turns her head away and starts driving but keeps her mouth shut.

After a few minutes Chloe’s phone rings and she puts it on speaker.

“Chloe! Dan told me that you are already on your way to this Henry dude. I have news, whoever butchered up those kids, had no freaking clue how to do it. I mean it’s a freaking mess. The way how they tried to chop off the limbs and remove the bones, just random.”

“Ella, come to the point.”

“Sorry, sorry. It just seems like our poor guy Stanley had absolutely no part in this play. He works as a butcher for years and he should know how to remove bones and how to prepare meat. Whoever did that to the kids, it was definitely not him. Those were amateurs.”

Chloe and Lucifer share a look. “That seems to align with what his mother told us, she said he was so skilled that his boss begged him to stay.”

“It surely seems like he is innocent and now he is in grave danger. The bad boys must have taken him with them to make it look like he is on the run. Or to eliminate the witness.”

“Maybe, did you find anything else?”

“The report isn’t finished yet, but I will call you as soon as there are additional news.”

“Okay, thanks Ella, bye.”

“Thank go- goodness, that Ella called us, we need to be careful with that Henry North guy. He could be holding Stanley as a hostage. They all could be at his house and are probably armed. We have to be cautious.”

“Of course, I am always cautious.”

Chloe snorts and continues driving while increasing the speed. 

 **********

Maze stands in front of a huge building, holding a packet under her arm. The area is silent and almost no soul is around. She climbs the steps towards the entrance and carefully pulls open the door. The demon tucks her head inside and scans the hallways. There was no one around. After evaluating the building as safe, she enters completely and searches the rooms. The walls are decorated with posters and signs, pictures and paintings and at both sides there are multiple lockers and benches.  _Ugh, the smell of children_. Maze makes a disgusted face and pulls over to a door which has an upper part made of glass.  _She’s not in there_. The hunt continues until she finally finds the correct classroom and spots her target sitting in the second row.

After taking a few deep breaths, Maze opens the door and steps inside the classroom. The teacher, a young woman with a long brown ponytail, looks up in confusion. “What can I do for you?”

Maze looks her in the eyes and says in a demanding tone. “I am here to catch Trixie Decker, her mom sent me. She needs to come with me.”

Trixie stares at Maze with the mouth wide open and the other children start whispering.

The young teacher crumbles quickly under the almost threatening demand and answers. “Trixie, you can go.” She points at Maze and slumps down on her chair slightly shivering.

The girl takes her belongings with hesitation but follows Maze outside the classroom. She closes the door behind them and Maze gestures her to follow. They both settle down outside on a close bench under a tree. The demon shifting nervously beside Trixie, holds the present in front of Trixie. “Your mom didn’t send me.” She swallows. “I am here because I want to apologize. This is for you.” Maze opens the packet and reveals an enormous chocolate cake with colourful lettering on top. >For Trixie, my favourite tiny human.<

Trixie’s eyes shoot open widely. “Woooow.”

But before Trixie could react, Maze continues to talk. “I am so sorry for what I said and that I hurt you. I was angry and confused at that time and I didn’t mean it. You are my first friend here on earth and I hope you can forgive me.”

Trixie rises her hand and gently touches Maze’s bruised face. “Does it hurt? Did you get beaten up at your job?” Her voice with a worried tone.

Maze grips her hand and gives her a light squeeze. “Not anymore.”

Suddenly the small human jumps and embraces Maze tightly, catching her by surprise. “Be more careful.” She squeezes a bit harder. “I forgive you.”

The demon returns the hug and caresses her head. “Thank you, Trixie.”  

They stay in their embrace until the bell starts ringing and Trixie releases herself. “Oh no, the next class will start soon. I have to go back.” Maze nods with a smile on her face and Trixie grabs her huge cake. “I will share it with my friends and teachers.” She gives Maze a quick kiss on the cheek and starts running towards the entrance. “See you tonight!”

“See you later.” Maze shouts and waves her goodbye. A big boulder which sat on her heart, finally disappeared and she knows she is on the right path.  _One person is still left_. She thinks while standing up and disappearing in the crowd.

 ***********

Chloe and Lucifer arrive at the given address and are now standing in front of a small house.

“There, the dark van which Dan told us about” Chloe says and points to the car parking slightly sloped in front of the garage door.

“That’s a huge van for such a small house. It could fit ten people.” Lucifer says and follows Chloe to the front door, hands in his pant pockets.

“Yeah, some people and some corpses.” Chloe whispers with a sad voice.

She knocks three times and yells “LAPD!”

The answer comes quicker this time. The door flicks open and a thin, bald man stands in front of them. “What can I do for you?” His voice is strained, covering up a slight hint of fear.

“We are investigating a mass murder and your van was seen at the crime scene.”

“Come inside.” He hisses. “Quickly!” his eyes now clearly nervously searching the street.

They follow him inside and he closes the door, locking it.

The house is a bloody mess. The wallpaper is ripped off, the furniture dirty and broken, the floor is covered with old worn out rugs and there is a bad odour in the air, which smelled like rotting food and wet clothes. Lucifer wrinkles his nose and lets out an annoyed noise. “What’s up with the bad smells today?” Henry leads them to the couch, but they didn’t even think about sitting down in this filth.

“Henry, we spotted your van on a crime scene. Where were you this morning between 6:00am and 12:00?”

Henry doesn’t answer right away, his face changed from slightly nervous to terribly anxious. His lower lip starts trembling and drops of sweat are dripping down his bald scalp “I, I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Lucifer growls and steps slowly towards Henry. His face filled with anger. “How can you not know?”

“Lucifer. Stop.”

“Come on, let’s not talk around the bush. Spit it out. What did you do?” his eyes locked on his prey, Lucifer towers over Henry with dangerous eyes.

Henry, who is now crying, tries to back away but hits the wall soon. Still not answering except some sobbing.

Chloe wants to interfere and hold Lucifer back but then she thinks about the murdered children and has a strange feeling of power surging through her body.  _The devil himself is by my side, punishing the bad guys and forcing them to tell the truth_.  _What they desired the most_. She watches Lucifer getting closer to his prey using his mojo to lure out the truth. Her detective brain tries to tell her she needs to stop Lucifer, but her heart shuts it down. She lowers her hand and releases Lucifer’s arm.

“Now, come on.” His voice devilish sweet but dangerous. “What did you desire so much, that you were willing to sacrifice innocent children and then chop them up like animals?” His words are thundering through the house.

Distracted from Henry’s awful distorted face and constant sobbing they don’t notice him pulling out an army knife. With a desperate shout, Henry lunges forward and stabs Lucifer’s right thigh. The devil stumbles back in surprise. “Bloody hell!” Chloe already making a move, shoves Henry to the ground and pulls his arms behind his back, while searching for her handcuffs.

“Are you alright?” She yells at him, now pulling up the cuffed man and throwing him on the couch.

“Of course, it’s just a flesh wound.” He says and with a swift motion he pulls out the knife. Now furious, Lucifer charges at Henry and glares at him with flashing red eyes. “Talk. NOW.”

“I, I want to save my girlfriends life. I want to marry her, and I want to have a happy life with her.”

“Then why the kids?”

“Money, I needed the money.” He suddenly stops himself by biting on his tongue.

“Continue!” His voice dangerous and with no patience left.

“I can’t, I can’t tell you.” He drops to his knees and starts sobbing uncontrollably. Lucifer steps away and throws a confused look at Chloe, who has the same reaction.

“Why can’t you tell us?” Chloe asks.

“You need to help me!” Henry suddenly shouts. “If, if you promise to protect me, I will tell you everything. Please, please. The boss threatened us to kill us if we don’t finish the job.” He looks nervously towards the windows, the door and back to Chloe. His eyes red from crying and filled with fear.

After a short thought she says. “We will do our best. I promise you. Our police force will give you protection and you can tell us anything. We will take you to the precinct.” She rises her hands and steps towards Henry to help him up.

“Okay, okay.” He exhales slowly. “I tell you everything.”

Suddenly Henry gasps and turns his head in an awkward angle. He lets out a cry of pain and slumps down to the floor. His face turns greenish and he has struggle breathing. Blood starts oozing from his ears and eyes and only ragged breaths escape his mouth. Chloe looks anxiously at Lucifer and couldn’t react fast enough before his wheezing just stops.

Chloe wants to kneel and check his pulse, when Lucifer puts his arm in front of her. “He is dead. No need to endanger yourself, detective. We don’t know what killed him. Could be poison.” He remembers the horrifying experience with Chloe almost dying by poison. “You almost died because of a vicious poison, remember?”

“How can you be sure that he’s dead.”

“Trust me, I feel it. It is hard to explain and probably too much for a human mind to grasp but I can assure you, this man is dead.”

She furrows her brows with slight annoyance, about the mention how much a human mind can understand but believes him. They leave the house and Chloe pulls out her phone to call 911. After her call she focuses her attention at the hurt devil who is now sitting on the stairs and grasping his thigh. “Bloody hell.”

 “This looks deep.” Chloe states while inspecting his wound.

“It’s nothing, it will heal.” He says with gritted teeth. Lucifer looks down and watches the blood ooze from his wound. His right hand tries to stop the blood and the left hand reaches to his front pocket, pulling out his flask.

“You are bleeding way too much.” Chloe sits beside him and presses both hands on the wound. A question appears in her mind. “How come you are sometimes bleeding and sometimes bullets bounce off like nothing? We saw your shirt yesterday.”

“Oh, you mean the holes where Cain shot me?” He asks and Chloe nods. “It’s because you weren’t around.” Lucifer says and shifts edgily.

“Because I wasn’t around? What do you mean?” Chloe looks up.

“It’s your presence. You make me vulnerable.” He answers with a soft voice.

Chloe remembers the very same words from some years ago. He told her, that she makes him vulnerable and she thought he meant it in an emotional way. Not physically vulnerable. She swallows and asks. “I, I make you vulnerable? Ho-how?”

“You can ask my father, but I doubt you get an answer.” Lucifer scoffs. “I got absolutely no clue. The only thing I know is, that you have to be away from me and I am immortal again. I never measured the exact distance though.” He takes a huge sip from his flask and puts it away. “You, my dear detective, are the only human on earth who can kill the devil.” Lucifer’s voice sounds bitter and somewhat amused.

Chloe is speechless and just stares at her hands. She watches the blood slowly dripping down while suddenly a massive wave of questions storms her mind.  _What does that mean? I am a burden? He could die because of me? I could kill the devil who is also an angel?_   _Why me?_

Lucifer notices her inner struggle and quickly adds with a calm voice. “Chloe,  **I**  decided to stay by your side. It was my own free will, I know about the risk. Come on, look at me.” He places his left hand on her cheek.

Hesitantly she rises her head and looks the devil in the eyes. Her expression shows many different emotions like worry, doubt and guilt and it makes the devil’s heart ache.

“Chloe, listen to me. Every human is mortal, and any other partner would be as well. It doesn’t change a thing. Except that I am immortal when you are not around. It’s like a small perk or a tiny advantage, which applies sometimes and sometimes it doesn’t.” Lucifer puts on a wide smile, in hope to calm Chloe.

 _He is right. A human is mortal and can get hurt. That’s normal_. Her mind now back in detective mode, she starts analysing the new information and putting it into the right order.  _Lucifer can get hurt and even die. His mojo thing still works but has no effect on me_. She recalls his desperate attempts to lure out her darkest desires which didn’t work at all. The same thing applies to his appeal that traps everyone under his spell. Superhuman strength seems to be another trait but surely works anyhow.  _He is just like a normal human being with just some odd extras._  Chloe concludes but at the same time a new question needs its answer.

“How many times did you die?”

Lucifer not expecting this question, slightly hesitates. “Two times.”

“Was it because of me?” Chloe swallows hard and almost knows the answer. Her memory of Malcom, still somewhat fresh and painful, was burned into her mind. The fear of losing her child and the sight of her partner getting shot was traumatising.

“I died to save you.” Lucifer searches for the right words and takes a deep breath.

“Lucifer.” Chloe’s voice trembles and so does her whole body.

They are so immersed in their own bubble that the arriving backup and ambulance couldn’t catch their attention. Not until a paramedic stands right beside Lucifer and shakes his shoulder.

“Sir, you are badly wounded, we need to check that.” The man says, pointing at his leg and Chloe startles. She removes her hands and stands up quickly.

Lucifer’s head spins at the medic and then down at his pants which are soaked with blood. “Blood stains are so hard to remove.” He pouts and stands up with a swift motion. That was not one of his brightest decisions as dizziness hits the devil and everything goes black.

“Lucifer!” Chloe reaches out and grabs his sleeve in the last second and the medic catches his upper body. “I need help here!” He calls out and soon two other medics appear, lifting the devil towards a stretcher.

Chloe watches them carry Lucifer away for a few seconds but eventually snaps out of it and follows with quick feet.

_Lucifer!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did Henry suddenly die? Who's behind the murder?
> 
> And what's going to happen with Lucifer?
> 
> Thanks at all for the love and support. <3

**Author's Note:**

> That's it, that was chapter one and there are more to come. 
> 
>  
> 
> English is not my native language, so please have mercy on me. :)


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